Kewaunee Power Station – located along the Lake Michigan shoreline off Highway 42 - has been pumping out energy since 1974. Recently Dominion, which bought the station in 2005, attempted and failed to sell off the operation.

Plant spokesperson Mark Kanz says Kewaunee was one of the best run nuclear power plants in the country. After September 11, 2001 security was significantly amped up. The plant employed more than 600 workers.

Decommissioning Process

Ahead of the shutdown, Kanz explained how the slow decommissioning process actually happens.

Skilled teams shut down the machines, signaling a slow – closely monitored - cool down process. Spent fuel could remain hot for a decade. Ultimately the spent fuel will be carefully transferred to an onsite dry storage facility, Kanz says.

Kanz estimates the complete decommissioning process could stretch over 60 years, when the land occupied by the plant will become a green field site.

All of the fuel used over the plant’s lifetime will remain on site. Kanz says, as long as that is the case, there will be people guarding it.